Impossible
by StrikerInTheSky
Summary: A case that will blow everyone's minds; a family is murdered, with a sole survivor. Filled with classified documents, danger and secrets, this is going to be a case to remember. Rated for murder scene. There's going to be eventual Lupo/OC & Mike/Connie for all you guys who love a little or more romance
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey there guys :) This is my first L&O fanfiction, so it might not be perfect, but bear with me :) I'd LOVE it if you could REVIEW so I know what you guys find I should change or if you like it :D preferably the latter  
So yeah, i'll stop babbling and let you read :) Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters you recognize, they belong to Dick Wolf, the lucky guy :)**

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**A/N: Okay, okay, okay, sorry to interrupt you again, but in order for the story to go the way I want it, keep these minor/major changes in mind. For all intents and purposes, I've made the following changes:**

**-This is set few months after the end of Season 20**

**-Lieutenant Van Buren has been cured of her cancer**

**-Cyrus Lupo is thirty years old**

**-Lieutenant Van Buren is getting slowly getting her marriage arranged with Frank**

**-Unfortunately, I don't live in New York, so don't get mad if some places aren't situated perfectly**

**Now you can read :D**

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Chapter 1

- Where It All Started –

**New York, Brooklyn**

** Monday, November 15****th**

All was peaceful as could be in Brooklyn in the early afternoon of November 15th. Mother of three, Anastasia Rider was cleaning up the kitchen table, where her husband Edward Rider had just finished eating a lunch of hamburgers with her just ten minutes earlier. If he could, he came home every day for lunch so that he could see his wife before he came home. After he ate, he always returned to his work at Striker Enterprises, a company that created, built and designed fighter planes for the army. Jets, plain old carriers, fast planes that were meant to not be seen by enemies, you name it; Striker Enterprises did it all. Of course, everything was top secret, and to most people, everything was on a need-to-know basis. Of course, that meant his work life was classified stuff.

As Anastasia put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and started it, she proceeded to stroll down the main hall into the living room. As she settled herself into her favorite armchair, she looked over at the glass coffee table and one of the picture frames that was settled on top of it. She leant over, grabbed it in her hand, and leant back. The picture frame held a picture taken only a few months earlier, of the family. In the back, there was Edward and herself, with Edward's arm draped over her shoulder, pulling her close. Then, in the front, were their four kids; Cassidy, Joshua, Sebastian, and Tatiana. From oldest to youngest, there was Tatiana, who was aged at twenty seven, Sebastian, who was recently eighteen, Joshua, who was nine, and Cassidy, at a young age of six. They were all smiling, from their places in front of their parents. The picture was taken in Central Park, on one of their strolls. Anastasia smiled.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill sound of the phone ringing a catchy melody, unlike the traditional "ring-ring". She got up, placed the picture back on the table, and answered the nearest phone, right beside the entrance to the living room. "Hello."

"Hi mom," the voice on the phone said. "It's Tatiana."

"Hi honey, how are you?" Anastasia asked, recognizing the voice of her eldest daughter. "When do you think you'll be home today?"

"I'm fine, I'm just finishing up a quick lunch. I have to tell you about this amazing Thai place Vanessa told me about, the food is to die for," said Tatiana, joy in her voice. "Oh yeah, sorry. What time is it now?"

"Just after one in the afternoon," replied Anastasia, waiting for an answer.

"Well then, I'll be home nice and early. Expect to see me around two thirty, I have the afternoon off but I have to stop by a book store and get something for class," Tatiana said after a moment. She was studying in law school, after being a veterinarian for a while and teaching kindergarten for two years. It was her first year. "Hey, do you want me to get Josh and Cass from school? I've got the time, I can get them when they finish before coming home. And Sebastian too."

"Sebastian told me he had to stop by some store after school to get a new case for his phone," explained her mother, "But it would help a lot if you could pick up your brother and sister."

"No problem mom, the book store is right near the school, actually," said Tatiana, "So I won't get Seb then. Okay I'll remember that."

"So I'll see you home around quarter past three. Your father's getting home around four thirty today, he gets to come an hour and half earlier than usual this week, there's less work at the office," Anastasia informed her.

"Okay mom. Well I have to go, I just got to the car, and I can't use my cell while driving," said Tatiana. Anastasia could hear the sound of the car starting up. "Bye mom, love you."

"Bye sweetie." She ended the call, placing the phone back on its charger. She sighed and looked at the huge house- like apartment around her. Many, many years ago, they had bought two adjacent apartments and turned them into one huge apartment, which is where they lived now. She went to the kitchen to get a wet cloth to wipe down the furniture for dust. She reached for the phone once again. She had to tell Edward that Tatiana was going to get Joshua and Cassidy.

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The office where Detectives Cyrus Lupo and Kevin Bernard worked was unusually quiet for a Monday evening. Lieutenant Anita Van Buren was in her office, getting off the phone with her fiancé. Only a few months earlier, she was told that her cancer had gone away, and she had been cheerful for weeks on end, right before returning to her old self. She was back to normal.

Lupo sat at his desk across from Bernard, who was just finishing up some sort of paperwork, much like he should be doing. He ran his hand through his hair; he hated paperwork.

Suddenly, the Lieutenant burst from her office and strode right over to the two detectives. They both looked up at her as she walked hurriedly over, both of them noticing the troubled look on her face and the quick manner in which she was walking. They shared a look; this didn't look good.

"There's a problem," Van Buren started, not giving the Lupo or Bernard a chance to say anything. "Leave now and don't make any stops on the way there. I have a really bad feeling about this one, boys."

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Bernard and Lupo paid little attention to the speed limit as they rushed over to the address that Van Buren gave them, driving until they came to the area in Brooklyn where the residence was located. Finding the apartment was no problem, considering that a few wailing police cars were parked in front of it. For reasons unknown to them, no one seemed to be inside the apartment, which the two detectives could see was a huge apartment made out of two side by side apartments. Police were at the front doors, ramming into them with all their might.

Bernard screeched to halt on the street, and the two partners were out of the car and walking hurriedly to the front doors before anyone noticed their arrival. A middle aged officer noticed them and began jogging alongside them.

"What's the situation?" Lupo asked him, slowing his pace a little.

"We received a 911 call from this apartment. There was screaming, yelling, and what sounded a lot like a dog barking in the background. We heard gunshots, while the person on the phone kept saying for us to come, and that there were people with guns in the house, and they didn't know why. The connection was cut short. We only just got here," he said as quickly as possible. "The door won't open, and they're sturdy; we can't bust them down. We don't know what's in there."

"Okay, thanks," said Bernard. "We'll try getting in. Have your guys check for any other ways in."

"Gotcha." The officer disappeared, spouting orders.

Lupo and Bernard walked up the front steps, where all the officers at the front door moved back down to allow them space. Lupo tried the doorknob, just to be sure, but it was locked. He backed up against the railings, while giving a signal to Bernard. Bernard ran forward, hitting the door with full force with his shoulder. The doors shook, but they didn't open.

They heard a gunshot from inside the house. Everyone was quiet. The bad guys were still in there. Without further hesitation, Lupo and Bernard drew their guns and Lupo shot at the lock on the door multiple times. Then he threw himself against the weakened door until it budged open. He snuck in with Bernard and a half dozen officers behind him.

Two big pieces of furniture were pushed up against the door, which is why they wouldn't open, in addition to being locked.

Lupo went to the left, while Bernard took the right. Two officers went upstairs, while the others followed either of the two detectives. Lupo found himself in what appeared to be the kitchen. There was blood all over the white floor tiles. It seemed as though someone who was bleeding dragged themselves across the floor. He looked around the room. There was no body. He continued until he was at the back of the main hall, where he found more blood on the floor and bloody handprints on the walls. There a broken glass chandelier in the middle of the hallway, with some blood on one on the clear crystals. Suddenly he heard someone call him.

"Lupes! Get over here!" Bernard yelled as loudly as he could. Lupo followed his voice until he found his way back at the front of the apartment and into the living room. It looked like a warzone.

There were five bodies all over the huge living room. A glass coffee table in the middle of the room was shattered into large chunks and little slivers of glass. Bernard stood opposite the room from Lupo, with the two officers that followed him behind him, all of them with their hands down and pale faces.

The first of five bodies was a woman, possibly in her late forties, with blond hair. She had a huge piece of glass sticking out of her upper thigh, and another in her stomach. There was also a bullet hole going through her neck. On her arms, she had multiple cuts. There was a deep, bloody gash in her forehead.

The second was a little girl who looked no more than six. She had dirty blonde hair, and her body was sprawled on a large, white, bloodstained couch. Her arm was bent at an odd angle, she had bruises already forming on her neck, a bullet in her stomach, and a deep cut on her arm.

The third and fourth bodies were both boys. The first looked about eighteen, and the other looked a little under ten years old. The little boy had black hair which was plastered to his head with blood. Blood trickled down his neck. His neck had a small cut on it, and he had a bullet in the center of his chest. In addition to that, he had a bloody foot, which was probably hit with a bullet or two, glass on his arm, and two deep cuts in his cheek. The older boy's body was lying across the torso of the younger one; he probably fell on him. He had four bullets in him; one in his head, in his mess of dark brown hair, one in his chest, one on his shoulder, and one through his neck, all of them making up the C.O.D. Like the woman, who must be their mother, he had multiple pieces of glass sticking out of him; in his leg – which was bent oddly – and in his chest.

The last body was the worst of them all. It was a man that looked late into his forties. He had graying dark brown hair and a sturdy build. His body was beside a fireplace, where a fire was slowly dying. One of the tips of the fireplace tools was lying in the fire, burning bright orange. The man's shirt was torn open, to reveal multiple brands and scorches, where he was obviously hit or branded with the white hot metal tool. He had deep gashes all over his persona; on his arms, his legs, his face. He had at least six bullets in him; all over his torso. His neck had a large piece of glass sticking out of it. Part of his mouth was cut, and two of his fingers looked broken. It was a gruesome sight.

Lupo felt a huge shock and found himself unable to move; this was one of the worst scenes he'd ever seen here in New York City. Bernard was the first to move. He leant over the broken coffee table – where most of the glass seemed to come from – and picked up and broken picture frame. He looked at it and frowned. "Hey Lupes, look at this."

He tossed the picture frame across the room to Lupo. The detective caught it and looked at the bloodied picture. He matched the faces to five of the six people in the picture. One of them – a girl in her twenties – didn't match anyone. Her body wasn't in the living room.

"She's gotta be somewhere else in the house, Lupes," said Bernard. But before either of them could move, they heard a small whimper coming from the room they were in. They looked around until their eyes settled on the little boy, who's finger twitched. If they looked carefully, his chest rose and fell, just slightly.

Lupo reacted. "We need the paramedics!" he yelled. An officer was already on his way out, bickering the paramedics in and directing them towards the boy. Lupo backed away and looked at Bernard. They had to find the other girl.

Bernard paused before moving. "Didn't the officer outside mention a dog?" As if on cue, they all heard a dog bark from the back of the huge apartment, and then they heard a whimper, probably from the same dog. They ran to the back of the house-like apartment, following the sounds of the faint barking from the dog. They came across a door that was halfway open, with blood on the doorknob. The noises came from behind the door. Bernard pushed the door open with the hand that wasn't holding the gun.

"Police," Bernard said to the door as it swung open. "Anyone in there?" The room was pitch black. The dog present in the room barked madly. Lupo felt along the inside wall for a light switch. He found one and flicked it on.

The room was a fairly large storage closet; big enough for five people to stand with enough space in. Three walls had white metal shelves on them, with items like cleaning detergent, spare brooms, a vacuum cleaner, medical supplies and dozens upon dozens of towels. On the far side of the closet, the detectives located the dog, a German Shepherd, barking wildly, baring its teeth. Beside the dog, lay a body; the missing girl from the picture. She looked around twenty six or twenty seven, with long brown hair. Her slim body lay across the bloodied floor. Her chest rose and fell with every shaky breath. She was still alive.

She had blood all over her left leg, due to what looked like three bullet holes. She had a huge, deep cut on her right forearm, which was bleeding freely. There was deep cut above her left eye, on her forehead, which was leaving a trail of blood across her cheek. With her damaged arm, she clutched her stomach weakly. Her lip was cut, and she seemed to be struggling to keep her brown eyes open. The German Shepherd wouldn't stop barking. Weakly and with much effort, she lifted her left arm and placed her hand on the dog's back. "Stop, Thunder. They're…good." She breathed the last word, and it escaped her as barely a whisper. She flinched in pain at the contact of her hand on the dog, and she let it fall to the ground, which only resulted in a whimper of immense pain.

Lupo and Bernard were already in the room, kneeling beside her. After getting a look at all of the girl's damage, and how she was barely managing to breathe, the partners shared a knowing look; she was losing a lot of blood. Bernard stood and bellowed "GET A MEDIC OVER HERE, NOW!"

Lupo looked at the floor beside the girl and noticed a cell phone with a bloodied screen. That must have been how the 911 call was made, and surely she was back here when she called in, with the dog, which would explain the barking. Lupo then looked at the dog, as Bernard knelt and reassured the girl that they were going to rush her to the hospital and get her straight into surgery. Lupo noticed that the dog has blood all over its back, on its muzzle, and on its paws. The blood on its back seemed to be its own.

"We're going to need some kind of vet too," Lupo informed Bernard, indicating the dog.

At that moment, the paramedics rushed into the room. Lupo and Bernard both backed up to give them room to do their duties. The dog – which was named Thunder according to the girl – dragged itself on the floor to beside Lupo. In any other circumstance, Lupo would've smiled; Thunder could smell Otto, his dog, on him. Lupo bent down and rubbed the injured dog's head soothingly. The dog whimpered, and Lupo draped a towel from one of the shelves over the dog's back.

The girl was taken outside to another ambulance; the little boy –her brother, it turns out – was already on his way to the hospital. Other police officers arrived with medics to take the dog to a vet for special care, and informed Lupo and Bernard that they would be contacted when the dog could return to its owner. Although it was not said, Lupo and Bernard knew that the officer refrained from adding _Presuming that its owners aren't all dead by then_.

Lupo and Bernard went back to the front of the house. Where many neighbors had gathered outside to find out what was going on.

Lupo looked at Bernard and said. "This is most definitely _not_ good."

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**A/N: Well, Chapter 1 is done! Hopefully you enjoyed it :) Please REVIEW and let me know what you think! I like constructive critism, but there's nothing better than a few positive reviews! :)**

**I've got a huge plot for this story; lots of crime, action, and some romance for all of you that love a good story :) Stay tuned for chapter 2! REVIEW!**

**x strikerinthesky**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, chapter two is finally done! Sorry on the upload wait; i have my end of year exams at school (still in grade 9 people :P) and studying so far has been nothing less than tedious. Before i let you go on and read, i wanted to thank my one and only reviewer...theSilverChef! *round of applause* and thanks to the people who alerted and favorited the story: I won't disappoint! This chapter is half as long as Ch 1, but i'll make up for it with longer ones later :) Enjoy!**

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**ATTENTION: BEFORE CONTINUING, PROCEED TO THE YOUTUBE AND SEARCH: LAW AND ORDER OPENING CREDITS SO IT FEELS LIKE YOURE WATCHING AN EPISODE IN YOUR MIND :P YOU WONT REGRET IT**

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Chapter 2

-On the right track-

The block on which was situated the house (police had started referring to the two-apartments-turned-into-one-huge-apartment as a house) where the murders took place was in complete chaos. Not the bad kind of chaos; the kind where everyone is bustling about and there is incessant talking and loud noises. Police cars had formed a semi-circle around the front of the house, preventing anyone from entering the premises unless authorized to do so, sirens were wailing, people were being ordered everywhere and constantly radioed commands, neighbors had exited their houses, gathering a bit behind the police barricade in order to see what was going on, and there was still now news from the ambulances transporting the victims, or the hospital they were supposed to go to. Then again, neither detective Lupo nor Bernard expected anything different: with the state the two barely-survivors were in, they would probably only hear news about them once the doctors had thoroughly examined and treated them, given how severe their wounds were. They were bound to spend quite a while in surgery. Granted, they had only been sped away about five minutes prior, but the hospital was a just that; five minutes away.

Lupo and Bernard, who were still in the living room looking at the horrid scene around them, were snapped out of their thoughts when the officer who had first greeted them at the scene came rushing to them, panting.

The detectives spun around. "What's wrong?" asked Lupo, as if much else could go wrong.

The officer took a second to catch his breath. "A civilian reported seeing a black SUV speed away three minutes ago. They only managed to talk to one of our guys now. We have a license plate number."

This was good; a lead, albeit a small one. They could track the car back to its owners, and therefore the killers. Then their friends Jack McCoy, Michael Cutter, and Connie Rubirosa down at the DA's office could work on putting the murderers in jail.

Just as they were about to respond, a team arrived fully clothed in white, scattering little yellow markers all over the house. Lupo, Bernard, and the other officer took that as their cue to exit for a few minutes. The team began snapping pictures of everything, and Bernard directed a few of them to the closet where they'd found the injured girl.

Once they were all outside, Lupo and Bernard located the police chief and talked to him. "What have we got?" asked Bernard.

"This is the Rider family," said the aged chief, named Bernie Fuller, "The older man was the father of the family; Edward Rider. He worked at Striker Enterprises, but God knows what he did there. It's all top secret down there. His wife – the woman – was Anastasia Rider. They have four kids, as you can probably tell from the picture you saw earlier."

He walked over across hallway to make room for the rest of the team to go to the living room. "The first D.O.A – the little girl – was named Cassidy. Poor thing, she was only six years old," Bernie continued, "The boy – his name was Sebastian –, he was seventeen. The little boy who guys found still breathing was little Joshua. He's only ten."

"And the girl we found?" inquired Bernard.

"That was Tatiana Rider, the eldest of the Rider children. Everything we've got so far points to her being the one who placed the 9-1-1 call. The dog barking, the female voice, it all matches," Bernie said. "It's a good thing you guys found her when you did, she was severely wounded."

"Don't get happy just yet, Mr. Fuller," said Lupo, "We haven't heard anything on their situation from the hospital yet. We can only hope for the best."

Bernie agreed with the two detectives, and then said goodbye as one of his officers summoned him outside. After a few seconds, Lupo and Bernard followed him out into the brisk evening. Lupo scouted the area for the officer who had approached them about the witness who saw the car speeding away.

As if on cue, the afore-mentioned officer appeared beside Lupo and Bernard. "Detectives," he greeted them, "There you are. I assume you want to talk to the witness?"

"Yeah. What does this person have for us?" Bernard asked, wanting to clarify the situation.

"This lady saw a black SUV speed away from the house when the police started showing up. She's got the street she saw it speed away on, the description of the car – obviously – and a partial license plate number" he relayed the information.

Lupo and Bernard shared a look; they were starting to get somewhere, and they could safely think that they were at least one tiny step closer to catching the maniacs responsible for the night's events.

"Where is she, the lady?" asked Lupo.

The officer pointed to an elderly woman standing behind the police barrier, right up against the bright yellow tape reading "Police Line: Do Not Cross". "That's Monica Baker. Sweet old lady," he said.

Lupo raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"

"Yeah," he responded. "I patrol here often, and I know most people here. At least, me and my partner do."

Bernard patted his shoulder as a parting gesture. "Good to know." He gave the officer his card. "Call us if any other neighbors decide to get chatty." And with that, Lupo and Bernard made their way over to Mrs. Baker.

Anyone who knew Monica Baker knew that she was a gentle old woman, at the old age of sixty four, with hair white as snow, and eyes a light, faded, washed out blue. Nevertheless, she smiled as the detectives approached her.

"Mrs. Baker?" Lupo began, "I'm detective Lupo and this is my partner detective Bernard. We understand you may have some useful information for us."

"Pleased to meet you," the elderly woman spoke gently, her manners never failing her. "And I do indeed have something to tell you."

"An officer informed us that this information is regarding a car – a black SUV, perhaps – that you saw speeding away. He also mentioned that you managed to see the license plate. Is this correct?"

"Yes it is. It happened just after the police showed up. It was just around the corner from here," she pointed to the nearest street corner on her right. "I was just coming out of my house after I heard the sirens, and then a black SUV just came out of nowhere and sped off! It must have been going at least 30 miles an hour!"

Bernard looked at Lupo before addressing Mrs. Baker. "Could you give us the partial license plate number you saw? It would be extremely helpful."

"Of course," she said. She dictated the jumble of letters and numbers she saw to Bernard as he scribbled them down on a small notepad produced from his pocket. "If I remember anything else, I'll be sure to let you know."

"That'd be great," Bernard thanked her, handing her a copy of his card, as did Lupo. "Don't hesitate to call. Some other officers from this precinct might want to talk to you again, so stick around for a little while longer if you can. Have a nice evening."

"Same to you, thank you." And with that, the two detectives turned around and started walking back to crime scene.

"We should go run this through the computers down at the station," Bernard offered, waving around the paper with the partial license plate number scribbled on it. "It's somewhere to start."

"Good idea, we can report back to Lieu at the same time," Lupo agreed. They changed their course to head over to their car. "And we're going to have to go over to the hospital as soon as the two victims are out of surgery and stable."

"Joshua and Tatiana," Bernard said, reminding his partner of the victim's names. They reached their car just as they finished talking. "Let's hope they make it long enough to have time to talk."

Without further ado, they got into the car, as Lupo nodded to Bernard's last words. They maneuvered their way out of the barricade and headed back towards their precinct.

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**A/N: Not much action in this chapter, but its necessary information. The next chapter might be as long as this one, but im purposely making chater 4 even longer because *realization* wait i cant tell you :) be patient and find out!  
So i've noticed that there's a new and improved "Review this story" button down there \/ so why not try it out and make sure it's working properly? *wink wink nudge nudge***

**x strikerinthesky**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Before anyone says anything...i blame the small delay in uploading on my exams which by the way FINISHED TODAY! so im officially on summer break for the next two months and a bit, so i have a lot of free time on my hands to write this fanfic and my own story :P im really happy right now because i'm finally finished grade 9 (wooh!) and i feel like putting this chapter up right away! i know whats going to happen next, so tomorrow (nothing planned all day) im going to finish writing chapter 4 and try to put it up ASAP :)**

**listen to me rambling, ill let you read in a sec. Just wanted to thank DaisyDay for reviewing the last chapter: you were right, reviews make me happy. i may or may not have done a little happy dance. i mean, not "may". i obviously didnt...*trying to look innocent* :)**

**so ill see you guys at the bottom of the chapter, but please enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

-One step forward-

"Alright boys, what have we got?"

Lupo and Bernard looked up at their esteemed boss, and friend, Lieutenant Van Buren. Ten minutes prior, they had just finished telling her everything that had happened that night, from the phone call, right up to the SUV speeding away from the crime scene. They'd been waiting for the results to come back from the partial license plate. They'd entered the license plate number into the system, along with a description of the car.

"Nothing yet," Lupo sighed.

"And no news from the hospital either," added Bernard.

They waited in a painfully long silence until something – anything – happened. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was really only a few minutes later, Bernard's posture straightened drastically from his slouched position as he exclaimed. "I've got something!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Lupo and Van Buren rushed around to the other side of the desk and huddled around to the other side of the desk and huddled around Bernard's computer screen, where he was opening up windows filled with information.

"There's one black SUV registered in the nearby area matching the beginning of that license plate number Mrs. Baker gave us," Bernard explained as his colleagues looked at the information confirming so. "It's a rent-a-car. It belongs to a place called Mikey's Car Rentals. Look; it's in the Bronx."

"Yeah it is," agreed Lupo.

"It'll be closed right now. You boys head on over there and find out who rented that car first thing tomorrow morning," Van Buren told them. "Call me if there are any developments."

"You got it Lieu." Bernard scribbled down the address on a scrap piece of paper before making a plan with Lupo about heading over to the rent-a-car early in the morning.

* * *

Early the next morning, the two detectives were getting out of their car and slamming the doors shut as they parked in front of a building with the words "Mikey's Car Rentals" flashing on a sign over two sliding glass doors. That morning, the story of the murders had made headlines in a whole bunch of big-name newspapers, and in the few hours that the two detectives had been awake, they'd heard enough to know that it was the talk of the area. Lupo locked the car and followed his partner into the car rental shop.

They were instantly blasted with a rush of hot air as they stepped through the sliding glass doors, and they quickly stepped forward so as to further avoid the onslaught of torrid heat being bombarded at them from an overhead heater.

"Sorry about that, that heater never turns off."

Lupo and Bernard looked up at the speaker and they both caught sight of a man in his thirties standing behind a counter. He was obviously Hispanic, judging by the slight accent with which he spoke. He had black hair, a tanned complexion, and a growing stubble, which only accentuated the tough-guy look he tried to radiate by rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt to his strong biceps. He was holding a wrench in one hand that he was busy wiping the grease off.

"That's got to be a pain," Lupo sympathized, "I'm detective Lupo, this here is my partner detective Bernard. We wanted to know if the owner was around. Mikey…something?"

"The owner?" the man grinned. He spread his arms wide. "You're looking at him. Mikey Blanco, at your service _mi amigos_."

Bernard and Lupo shared a look that conveyed the same thought: that was easy.

"Well Mr. Blanco, we wanted to know if we could ask you a couple questions about one of your rental cars," Lupo continued.

"What kind of car?" Mikey gestured at a window behind him, displaying a small parking lot full of cars. "In case you haven't noticed, there are quite a few of 'em."

"It's a black SUV," specified Bernard. He also gave him the license plate number – the full one, seeing as they'd gotten it from their computers – and waited.

"Oh! The SUV!" he said in understanding. "What do you fellas need to know?"

"Is it being rented right now?" Bernard asked.

"Give me a minute," Mikey said, walking further down the counter until he stood in front of a computer. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he summoned the information for the two detectives. "Uh, yeah. It's being rented. It was rented out three days ago."

"By whom?" Lupo asked, approaching the counter and leaning on it. Bernard followed suite.

"Someone named Andrew Pollini," Mikey said. "Paid in cash."

"Do you have an address?" Bernard asked, hoping they'd get an easy way to this guy.

"Yeah. He left it just in case something went wrong with the car," Mikey responded. "Hold on, I'll bring it up."

The detectives waited silently until he gave them an answer. "Here's the address." Mikey flipped the computer screen around so that Lupo and Bernard could see it. It was a scan of Andrew Pollini's driver's license, with a picture of the man himself. Beside it, there was a file with his address and contact information.

A light bulb turned on in Lupo's mind. "Hey B, that address is a two minute drive from the murder scene.

Bernard paused, frowning as he mentally tried to pinpoint the address somewhere in New York. He looked sideways at Lupo after a moment. "You're right."

Mikey's facial features changed to display an expression of shock. "Woah! This is about that murder? Of the Rider family?"

"News travels fast," observed Lupo. He addressed Mikey. "Yes it is, Mr. Blanco, but don't worry about that."

"Call me Mikey," he said, "Everyone does."

"Right, uh, Mikey. Call us if this Andrew Pollini returns the car while we're gone," Lupo said, as he handed him his card. Lupo inwardly chuckled; at this rate, he and Bernard would be out of cards by the end of the week.

"Lupes, let's head on over and pay Mr. Pollini a visit," Bernard said, straightening up. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Blanco."

"It's Mikey!" the rent-a-car owner yelled at them while smiling as they reached the shop's doors. "Call me Mikey, man."

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Sure enough, as Lupo and Bernard thought earlier, Andrew Pollini's address was a mere dozen blocks away from the murder scene. Andrew Pollini's house seemed deserted from the outside, but the detectives got out of the car and knocked on the door anyways, to no avail; no one was home.

Bernard called Van Buren and updated her on the situation, and asked if she had heard from the hospital yet; to see how the survivors were. She had no answer for them and asked them to remain outside the house until Mr. Pollini showed his face.

So Bernard and Lupo sat in the car, waiting for the black SUV to come up the street. When it had been long enough that Lupo thought his foot might fall asleep from lack of movement, they saw a car driving towards the house from the other end of the street.

"Hey, it's the SUV!" Bernard pointed it out to his partner. As he spoke, the SUV got closer, until it turned to pull into the driveway of the Pollini residence. Almost immediately, Lupo and Bernard jumped out of the car, slamming the doors shut as they crossed the street hurriedly.

A man opened the car door of the SUV, and Lupo and Bernard automatically recognized him from the photo on the scanned driver's license that Mikey had showed them. He was in his late thirties, and had short blonde hair.

"Mr. Pollini?" Lupo called out, and the man turned to face them, shutting the car door behind him as he got out.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, raising an eyebrow. "What can I do for you fellas?"

"Detectives Lupo and Bernard," Lupo introduced himself, and his partner as they flashed their badges.

"Do you mind if we have a look inside your car?" Bernard asked him, gesturing at the SUV in question.

"Uh, sure?" he said, confused. He unlocked the car and opened the trunk. "What's this about?"

Bernard put on a smile as Lupo searched the trunk. "Nothing you need to worry about, Mr. Pollini."

"Hey B!" Lupo called to his fellow detective. "Look at this!"

Bernard walked around to the back of the car, leaving Mr. Pollini standing mildly confused beside the driver's door. Lupo was pointing at something inside the trunk. Bernard looked at what he was gesturing at and caught sight of a few dark red stains on the side of the inside of the trunk, near the back. "That look like blood to you?" Lupo asked him, already sure of his answer.

"Yeah, that's blood alright." Bernard turned to look at where Mr. Pollini was standing. "Fresh blood."

"Woah there's something else here!" Lupo exclaimed. He pulled his hand out from under the back seat of the car. In his gloved hand, he held a gun. Bernard's eyes widened.

"Yeah? That's not all," he continued, seeing Bernard's expression. "There's blood on it too."

At this point, Mr. Pollini had walked around to the back of the car. "What the hell? What is that?"

"I think we should be asking the questions right now, Mr. Pollini," Bernard said.

"Put your hands on the car, Mr. Pollini," Lupo instructed, handing the gun to Bernard, who had just put on a pair of plastic gloves. "And put your hands behind your back."

"Why? What for?" he protested as Lupo manoeuvred him onto the car and pinned his hands behind his back, producing a pair of handcuffs. "That's not my gun, I swear! I've never seen it before! It's not even my car! It's a rental! I didn't do anything!"

"You're coming to have a nice chat with us down at our precinct, Mr. Pollini," Bernard said as Lupo clicked the handcuffs. "A nice long chat."

* * *

**A/N: another chapter down :) i know i said in an authors note last chapter that the chapters would be more around the length of the first (approx. 3200 words) but i want to ammend that statement to say that the chapters will be more around the 1500-2000 word mark. except for the chapter after the next, because it's going to be a HUGE one! stay tuned, cause itll be up in the next two days! you could maybe put the story on alert as one reader did...? ;) if you get my drift**

**I was just checking the traffic on this story and i saw that it was viewed 100 times! thanks guys, it makes me feel like i'm not just writing to myself here :P**

**so, i hate rambling and just making long notes but i have a lot to say to ill let you go now :) if you have any thoughts about the chapter or the story in general, drop a review down here \/ or PM me :) itll make my day**

**x strikerinthesky**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Alright, i know i said i'd post this chapter last week, but i ran into a problem so i had to change a whole lot of information in this chapter to make it work (hopefully you find it good too) :P im going to hopefully get the next chapter up in the next week (maximum, i promise) so just bear with me! :)**

**thanks to another review from DaisyDay! and yes, the evidence _was_ really obvious :P but dont worry, theres a method to my madness. and youll find out _very_ *wink wink nudge nudge***

**so without further ado, here's chapter 4! enjoy :)**

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Chapter 4

-Mistaken-

**2-7 Precinct, New York**

**Tuesday, November 16th**

"Andrew Pollini; age 37. No family in the nearby area, but he does have a brother – Thomas Pollini – who did time in jail for minor offences, and he's out on parole now." Detective Lupo told Lieutenant Van Buren every piece of information he'd been able to gather on Andrew Pollini in the past fifteen minutes that they'd been back at the precinct. Mr. Pollini was currently in the interrogation room under the surveillance of another officer, until they figured out what to do with him.

"Right, you two go in and talk to him. Find out where the blood came from, why the gun was there, and if he has an alibi for the night of the murders," Lieutenant Van Buren instructed her two detectives. "For all we know he could be the killer."

Lupo and Bernard nodded, heading into the interrogation room while Van Buren waited on the clear side of the one-way window. The officer already in the room went outside while Lupo and Bernard took his place.

Andrew Pollini had been quiet so far. Not a word uttered. But as soon as the detectives sat down at either one of the available chairs, the first thing out of his mouth was "I didn't do anything!"

Lupo and Bernard shared a look. _That's what they all say_.

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Pollini?" Bernard asked, in full on interrogation mode. "Then would you care to explain how that gun _and_ those spots of blood found their way into the trunk of your car?"

"I don't know where the gun came from!" he protested. "And I don't even know where the blood came from or whose it is! Maybe the last person to rent the car hurt themselves and left the blood there!"

"Wrong, Mr. Pollini." Lupo took over. "That blood is a _direct_ match to two of the murder victims; Anastasia and Edward Rider. Do you have an explanation for that one?"

"I didn't murder them! I only knew them because their oldest daughter sold me Girl Scout cookies when she was twelve years old!" he yelled, his nervousness apparent in his tone of voice. "I never talk to them! I don't know how their blood got in the car!"

"I don't know, maybe because you _murdered them_?" Bernard yelled right back, with a whole lot of mock-cluelessness in his tone.

"I'd _never_ murder them!" he bellowed. "I hardly knew them! I told you!"

"Listen up, Mr. Pollini. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Lupo warned him, voice low. "Your choice."

"How about 'none of the above', since I _didn't kill them_," Mr. Pollini retorted, slamming his hands on the table.

"Andrew, this will all be easier for everyone if you just own up to what you did!" Bernard reasoned, voice still at a high tone.

The suspect in question looked at Bernard with a blank stare. "What did you call me?" His voice was now lowered to its original tone and he sounded genuinely confused.

"Andrew," Bernard repeated, now on the verge of confusion as well. "As in Andrew Pollini; your _name_."

"My name isn't Andrew," he corrected him, frowning. "My name is Thomas. Andrew Pollini is my brother."

"Your brother?" Lupo said, disbelieving. "You're telling us that you're not Andrew Pollini, but you _are_ his brother Thomas?"

"Yeah, Andrew's my _identical twin brother_," he repeated, pronouncing each word clearly. He stood up and fished around in his back pocket. "I'll prove it to you!"

Lupo and Bernard looked at each other with odd expressions on their faces. Could he be telling the truth?

Andrew – or Thomas – pulled out a wallet from his back pocket and flipped it open. "See! Look!" he exclaimed, pointing at a picture in the wallet.

Bernard and Lupo squinted at the small photograph. Sure enough, there were two men in the picture, and they looked exactly alike, down to the way they styled their hair. The only difference the two could find is that one of the men had a bite shaped scar on his left forearm.

"That's me and Andrew last year," he explained. "You can't tell the difference between us unless you count the scar on my arm. A damn Rottweiler bit me" As if reading the detective's minds, he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a scar identical to the one in the photo. "I'm not Andrew, I'm Thomas."

Although neither detective spoke, they were each thinking the same thing; _Oh crap_.

But it made sense; before a few seconds ago, neither detective had addressed him as "Andrew", it had always been just "Mr. Pollini". And the picture wasn't up for argument.

"So you're telling us, that you're not Andrew Pollini, but his twin brother Thomas? The one who's out from jail on parole?" Lupo asked, disbelief hardly hidden in his voice.

"The one and only," he said, smiling. "You guys scared me for a second, there. I thought I was being arrested! That wouldn't have gone over too well with my parole officer…"

Lupo and Bernard looked at each other again. If this man wasn't Andrew Pollini, then they had to find him _right away_. Just in case he _was_ the killer.

"Where's your brother now?" Bernard questioned Thomas.

"Andrew?" he said. "He's probably still sleeping at home; he told me he was out late yesterday."

Lupo exited the room swiftly, to tell the Lieutenant to send out other officers to get Andrew Pollini at his house. Bernard waited patiently with Thomas until his partner returned, nodding at Bernard to signal that Van Buren was sending officers to the Pollini residence at that very moment.

"Just out of curiosity, Thomas, where were you last night?" Lupo frowned down at the man, not ready to rule him out as a suspect; after all, he _had_ been the one driving the car.

"Last night?" he stroked his chin absent-mindedly in thought. "I had dinner with a few colleagues, until really late at night. I crashed at one of their houses and came home this morning. That's where you guys found me."

Bernard and Lupo didn't need to share a look to know that they were going to verify his alibi the second they had a chance.

"Can I go now?" Thomas looked up at the two detectives hopefully.

"Sorry, Mr. Pollini," Lupo said, somewhere in between keeping a poker face and smiling. "You're going to have to hang around a little longer."

"What for this time?" he sighed. "I need to call my parole officer before she thinks I'm in trouble. I really don't need another reason to go back to jail, right now."

"I'm afraid that's just it, Thomas," Lupo continued.

"But…I didn't do anything!" the man in question protested. His brow furrowed as his racked his brain for any reasonable explanation as to why he was being detained for further questioning.

"Oh, but you did," said Lupo, shoving a hand casually into his pocket. "There was only one driver authorized on the rental contract, and that was a Mr. Andrew Pollini. And _you_ were driving. Unless you want to tell us you're actually _Andrew_ now, you've got a problem."

"That, by the way, is called unauthorized use of a vehicle," Bernard leant over and looked Thomas in the eye. "Looks like you have something to talk to your parole officer about after all."

And with that, Lupo and Bernard exited the room, as the officer who was previously there took his place again, watching Mr. Pollini.

The Lieutenant was standing on the other side of the glass. "His parole officer is on the way here," she told her two detectives.

"Okay. Do you want us to head over and help out with Andrew Pollini?" Lupo asked, ready to take a step to the door.

"No," she said slowly, her voice giving the impression of her zoning-out. Lupo and Bernard caught sight of a cell phone in her hand, which looked as if she just ended a call.

"So, what do we do?" Bernard asked confusedly.

"Leave the Pollini brothers to us for now." She paused and took a deep breath. "I just got a call from the hospital where the two victims were taken last night."

Lupo and Bernard shared a fleeting, worried look before looking back at their Lieutenant. "What happened?" Lupo asked, a little quieter than usual at the look of worry on Van Buren's face.

"The little boy, Joshua Rider," she took a deep breath before looking up at Lupo and Bernard. "He didn't make it."

"He was pronounced dea-" she stopped herself. "He passed away ten minutes ago."

"And the girl?" Bernard asked.

"Tatiana Rider?" Van Buren continued. "She woke up five minutes ago. You guys are going to have go to down there and talk to her. You can deal with Andrew Pollini as soon as you get back. We'll hold him until then."

Lupo and Bernard nodded before leaving the room to go back to their car.

"As if this case _needed_ another death," Bernard mumbled under his voice. "He was just a kid."

Lupo nodded his head slightly in agreement. It could only get better from here, he thought to himself.

…right?

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**A/N: another chapter down! so...because of traffic polls, i know there are a lot of views to this story (THANK YOU SO MUCH) :) if any of you guys reading this chapter read this, maybe you could drop a small review? did you like it? hate it? want to slap it in the face? love it? :P**

**stay tuned for chapter 5!**

**x strikerinthesky**


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